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(Alexandria, VA) - A close procedural vote in the Senate today on “Cut, Cap, and Balance” – the only comprehensive blueprint to raise the federal debt ceiling and bring government spending under control for the long-term – means the plan is as vital and viable as ever in the current debate over America's fiscal future. That’s the word from the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union (NTU), which vowed to continue its grassroots campaign to pass the measure along with its Cut, Cap, and Balance Coalition partners. 

“The Senate's action today is not an epitaph for Cut, Cap, and Balance, but rather an indication that an honest debate is still within reach,” said NTU Vice President of Government Affairs Andrew Moylan. “The fact is, this bill remains the only debt plan of any kind to pass the House, and is just a few votes shy of getting the consideration it deserves in the upper chamber. It is also the only legislative proposal that provides for an increase in the federal debt while delivering the reforms to federal programs and budgeting procedures that recent polls – such as CNN’s – show the public overwhelmingly supports.

In a related development, NTU also expressed concerns with a vague framework of ideas known as the “Gang of Six” proposal, warning that from the details so far this does not appear to be a credible substitute for the approach taken in “Cut, Cap, and Balance.” “The Gang of Six framework may be a burst of bipartisanship in a polarized town, but this alone does not make it an adequately-developed, fiscally responsible outline for our nation’s future,” the letter noted. “NTU urges all Members of Congress to resist the temptation of the latest ‘perfect compromise’ and oppose any plan that would trade enormous tax increases for unenforceable spending reforms.”

Moylan concluded, “As much as opponents would like to bury Cut, Cap, and Balance, this plan is alive and well with the American people because they know it is still the one path that will guide the nation's finances back to sustainability -- and guide our economy back to prosperity." 

The 362,000-member NTU is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working for lower taxes, smaller government, and economic freedom at all levels. More information on NTU’s work is available at www.ntu.org.